The Standard | A MASTERCLASS in an almost forgotten art from Allansford coach Josh Parkinson has ensured his team remains unconquered after seven rounds.
The Cats came home from their visit to Nirranda with a 16.17 (113) to 6.9 (45) victory over the Blues at Nirranda Recreation Reserve.
It took some good old-fashioned forward line crumbing from Parkinson to edge his team out of reach of the Blues.
The Cats started the game better to lead by 15 points at quarter-time and by one more at the long break.
Blues coach Aidan Cole told his players at half-time he sensed the Cats were starting to show signs of fatigue and encouraged his young team to continue to run hard and open the game up.
It looked to be an astute observation from Cole, with two goals from the Blues full-forward Rick Spokes in the opening 10 minutes reducing the margin to four points.
A goal soon after to Justin Nowell was the steadier the Cats were after, but the Blues were still coming.
The ball flew up and down the ground for the next 10 minutes but neither team could break the opposition defence and pinch the vital next goal.
Enter Parkinson, who at the 23-minute mark roved the ball from a marking contest and snapped through the elusive goal both teams were searching for.
A minute later and Parkinson bettered his last effort, reading the ball off the hands of the pack and without breaking stride snapping over his shoulder on his left boot to give his team a 22-point lead, which it was to carry into three-quarter-time.
Nirranda was never going to give up but the Parkinson double clearly deflated the Blues, something Allansford seized on. The Cats dominated the last quarter, kicking seven goals to none, with three of those from the busy Sam Holloway.
The final 68-point margin may have been unkind to the Blues, but it may have also provided them with a valuable lesson that against the best sides anything less than a four-quarter effort will not cut it.
For three quarters the Blues showed they are a team on the rise and capable of matching it with the top teams.
Spokes provided a strong target and finished with five goals while Bronte McCann was solid in a key defensive post and Jack Spokes and Mitchell Couch were lively through the middle.
While the Blues are a work in progress, the Cats are looking very much like a team that senses its time to challenge for the main prize has arrived.
Allansford appears to be playing with more steel than last season and has a well-balanced line-up.
Up forward it has multiple targets with Parkinson and Brett Hunger good at ground level and Brenton Webster and Justin Nowell presenting as very capable marking options.
James Keane came back into the team after missing the previous two weeks with injury and he had an immediate impact.
Keane started deep forward and spent much of the day in the Cats attacking half, proving to be a handful for a Nirranda defence that is not over endowed with height.
Xavier Mills has added plenty of polish to the Cats’ midfield with his clean ball handling and precise delivery helping penetrate the opposition defence.
There is also plenty to like about the Allansford defence which is built around Sam Doukas at full-back and Darren Kelly at centre half-back.
Doukas mixed defence and attack superbly on Saturday in a best-on-ground performance, while Kelly is a tough and composed competitor.
Sam Burchell on a half-back flank reads the play well and uses the ball efficiently while Matthew Dwyer is a mobile tall who can match up on a variety of opponents.
